We put up some rigid foam insulation on an exterior wall behind our furnace and gas water heater. We know we have to cover the rigid foam because it's flammable and emits toxic fumes, but there isn't enough room down there to build a stud wall. We're thinking now that we should have used Wallmate with the built-in furring strips. So, my question is: can we just glue furring strips to the rigid foam and screw the drywall into them (without having to use Tapcon screws to go right through into the concrete, because we haven't had a lot of success with those)? It's an area that's only about eight feet wide by about seven feet tall -- the rest of the furnace room will be properly drywalled.

Gary in WA

12-28-2009 10:45 PM

Rigid foam board is not structural. Inside the furnace door are the clearances for the other walls to combustibles.
Be safe, Gary

pyper

12-29-2009 09:49 AM

I haven't used those nailing devices that use a 22 caliber blank to drive the nail, but I understand they'll put the specified nail right into a concrete slab. Maybe that would work for your furring.

High Gear

12-29-2009 09:38 PM

If you can get any of these concrete nails you'll never go back to tapcons.

I get them at a hardware store that caters to contractors , won't find them at a box store.

Bronx

12-30-2009 06:49 AM

Fastening to a concrete wall.

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